NEWS

Squeezed into a small classroom and at a student desk chair, President Mary Jane Saunders sat in a semicircle with 16 other students as they talked about 19th-century white imperialism and World War I. The class was already engaged in lively debate when she walked in. Soon, however, she was raising her hand and adding to the discussion.

Saunders was visiting associate professor Hilary Edwards’ British literature class called “Honors British Lit Since 1798” as a part of her scheduled visit to the Jupiter campus on Monday, March 28. The class recently read a poem by Rudyard Kipling called “White Man’s Burden” and a short story about a British soldier’s experience in World War I.

What Saunders didn’t expect, coming from a science background, was how much she’d like the class.

“It really was very interesting because the students, myself included, were discussing the interpretations of the poem, what it meant about the local morays then and how we think differently about some things now,” said Saunders. “So it was a great discussion, and I think I’m not supposed to raise my hand, but I did. It made me absolutely want to go back to school again.”

Not only did Saunders enjoy being a part of the class, but both the students and Edwards were glad to have her there.

“It was awesome. I think it was great for the students to get to see [her participating]. I think if she would have sat there silently they might have started to get intimidated, but instead by participating I felt like she really put them at ease,” said Edwards. “It was like she became a member of the class for the day instead of someone just gracing us with her presence.”

One of Edwards’ students, Megan Geiger, said she liked how Saunders and her staff were there — though she felt nervous at first.

“Overall it was a great experience,” said Geiger, who is double-majoring in Spanish and English literature. “We got to see them take a class that we have every week and see what they thought of it and their reaction to it. After the first few minutes of paralysis it was comfortable and easy to talk in front of them.”

Another student, Michael Metzner, said he thought that Saunders was the total opposite of a stereotypical president who might sit in the corner and just watch a class.

“As soon as she got to her desk she started reading all the selections that we were discussing that day,” said the junior biochemistry and visual arts double major. “Then she kept raising her hand and really actually engaged in the conversation and started some pretty interesting discussion topics.”

Saunders has now visited the Davie and Jupiter campuses this semester as a part of her “Conversations with President Saunders” events and feels that she is accomplishing what she set out to do ­— get to know her community in a way that no president at FAU has done before.

“I love the fact that this university has all these different campuses,” said Saunders. “There’s a different feel to all of them and it’s great that they provide so many opportunities for students to learn.”